Clash of the Smashers 2: The Ruin of Heroism
by Lord Drash
Summary: Following the defeat of M.C., things took a turn for the terrible for our heroes. After a daring escape, new villains are encountered and new allies met. While a band of heroes is formed to fight the rising tide of evil, Mario and Kidar establish their dominance. This is a mega-crossover, going beyond the worlds introduced in Smash Bros to a whole host of new areas and games.
1. The Setting of the Pieces

**Chapter One: The Setting of the Pieces**

_Disclaimer: Unfortunately, despite my best efforts I own none of the games or characters of said games, be it from Nintendo or another franchise. The only thing I can take credit for is the story, character interpretation and the occasional original character. _

A faint Krak-a-thoom could be heard.

"Was that the signal?" Falco asked from his prison.

"I really hope not," Link responded.

"Why?"

"Because we are still TRAPPED IN THESE CELLS!" Link shouted back. "Fat lot of good that signal would do us if we couldn't leave."

A louder Krak-a-thoom could be felt.

"What about that one?" Falco asked.

"Falco!" Samus yelled. "Nothing has changed!"

"Well sorry I'm bothering you," Falco yelled back. "I'm a just a little nervous and you didn't do a good job at explaining what exactly the signal was!"

"You will know it when you see it," Link said.

The third Krak-a-thoom caused the dungeons they were in to shake.

"Was-," Diddy started to say.

"Oh don't you start too," Link snarled.

"You don't even know what the signal is, do you?" Raichu asked. "That's why you won't tell us."

"I know what the signal is," Link spluttered, "It's-"

With a loud crash, part of the dungeon exploded inwards, blowing a hole in the side of Link's cell.

"That," Link said smugly. He stepped out easily, covering his eyes as they were exposed to daylight for the first time in weeks.

"Great, but how are we supposed to get out? And when can we get rid of these?" Falco asked gesturing to the dark gray shirt with violet trimmings he wore. On its back was a symbol of a silhouetted open palm holding a ball of fire that only seemed to deepen the shadows covering the hand. All of the others in the prison had similar attire.

"I think these guys are going to help with the first part," Samus said as a squadron of Bob-ombs poured into the room through the hole, detonating near the cells.

It took multiple explosions, and most of the Bob-ombs passed out before the job was done, but eventually Falco, Samus, Kirby, Diddy and Raichu joined Link in freedom.

"Any idea who's helping us?" Diddy asked as the three passed through the light and out the hole. The dungeons were near the back of the castle, but they could see another hole blown in a nearby wall that would get them out of the gardenlike immediate area. Link realized how odd it was that the dungeons were near such a pristine and delicate landscape, but had little time to think over it.

"I'm guessing someone who's taken over Bowser's army," Raichu said, as the six tried to stay in the shadows of the ornate arches and shrubbery and the conscious Bob-ombs ran ahead of them, leading the way.

"But who?" Diddy responded, some heat entering his voice. "I thought we killed nearly everyone who worked for that murderous turtle."

No one had an answer for that. The noise of battle reached their ears, and the Bob-ombs seemed to get more restless. Hesitantly they crawled through the hole in the wall and entered a warzone.

Peach's castle was under siege, and the nearby Mushroom Town was on fire. Scores of Toads armed with spears skewered dive-bombing Paratroopas and actual bombing Bob-ombs as they assaulted the royal forces. Preventing their immediate escape was the deep moat surrounding the castle. The main bridge was set up and open for crossing, but the fiercest fighting was there, with a small band of Yoshis currently dueling with a scattering of Magikoopas.

"Damn," Falco said, stunned. "Someone really wants to make sure we get out of here."

"Or they really want to wipe out Mario," Link said. "Now do we try and sneak out, or just run?"

Before a decision could be made, a platoon of Toad Warriors came around a corner, spotted the hole in the wall and then the six standing by small batch of Bob-ombs.

"The prisoners have escaped!" The lead Toad cried, "Quick, get Mario!"

Several of the Toads ran off, towards the castle, while the rest charged forward.

"Think we can take them?" Falco asked nervously.

"We don't have any weapons and we've been mostly stuck in cells for three weeks," Samus said, "We run."

They did. The Toads gave chase, but the remaining Bob-ombs spun around and exploded, sending the charging warriors careening, some of whom actually fell into the moat.

"How long do you think we'll have until those Toads tell them we escaped?" Diddy asked as they neared the bridge, avoiding most of the Toads. The few Toads they did pass were quickly shoved aside or kicked into the moat.

"Not long," a deep voice said, flapping overhead.

"Damn," Link said as Meta Knight dropped down on the edge of the bridge. "Still evil?"

"I do not understand," Meta Knight said, eyes flashing violet. He raised his sword.

"I'm going to say yes," Raichu said.

"Raichu, you're the only one who's still at essentially max strength," Samus said as the swordsman waited patiently for them to make the first move. "Think you can take point on this one?"

Raichu responded by charging forward, lightning shooting out of his cheeks at the masked knight. Meta responded by vanishing and reappearing next to Samus. She side-stepped his sword strike and kicked out, a blow that would have normally connected and sent the diminutive warrior into a daze. Unfortunately she was weak from her imprisonment and the attack did not have her usual speed and surety. Meta avoided it easily and struck at her ankles.

Again, it was a strike that she could have avoided easily in her prime, but debilitated as she was, Samus barely managed to backstep away from the wickedly fast blade. Her stuttery backstep soon became an ungainly fall and Meta moved to press his advantage, just as Falco slammed into the knight with his own kick. Unlike Samus's, this one didn't miss and Meta was knocked off balance. A follow-up bolt of lightning from Raichu caught Meta and sent him tumbling off the bridge.

"Come on!" Link said, grabbing Samus's hand and pulling the tall woman to her feet. "Let's go before he recovers!"

The six resumed their escape across the bridge. They slowed when approaching the embattled Yoshis and Magikoopas. With the opposing forces flinging eggs and spells at each other, it seemed dangerous to try and pass. Before they were forced to make a decision the Magikoopas were joined by hammer flinging and boomerang tossing Koopas, and their beefier forms allowed them to shrug off the eggs the Magikoopas had to avoid. Seeing the battle turn, the six dashed through the weakening Yoshi line and prepared themselves to barrel into the Koopas. Upon seeing them approach however, the Koopas parted to allow them through. A Magikoopa on a broom broke off from his fellows to speak to Link and co as they ran across the bridge and away from the battle

"You were taking so long, we were getting worried you weren't going to make it!"

"Why so concerned?" Diddy asked.

"Idiot!" The Magikoopa said angrily. "This whole battle is for you. I don't know why, but you're all Kamek ever talks about!"

"Kamek?" Raichu asked.

"The head of the Magikoopas! Bowser's advisor! The one guy you morons didn't kill when you blasted through Bowser's castle!"

"Oh," Diddy said. "Sorry about that."

As the sounds of the battle faded, the seven started to slow down, cautiously approaching the town, where more fighting could be heard.

"I think we should've left you all to rot, but for some reason, Kamek thinks you're the only ones who can stop Mario."

"What's the plan?" Link asked.

A burst of heat at their backs stopped their conversation dead.

"Oh no," The Magikoopa said, terrorsweat nearly covering his face.

"See how the cowards flee?" A familiar voice, tinged with an Italian accent cried. "The Koopas steal our beloved Princess and then attack our home! Then they spirit away our treasonous prisoners, all in the name of their fallen king!"

The seven turned around to see Mario, standing proudly at the head of a battalion of Toads and Yoshis, hands clenched in mighty fists and fire leaking out around his white gloves. He bore no cape or hammer, but his shirt and overalls were brighter than they had been the last they saw the plumber, nearly seeming to glow with the barely controlled power of the man.

"How did you slip past the forces on the bridge?!" The Magikoopa asked.

"There was no slipping involved," Mario said grimly, opening one of his fists and allowing the ashes within to drift to the ground. "Just burning."

If anything, the Magikoopa seemed to become even more drenched in sweat. As Mario took a slow, confident step forward, followed closely by his forces, the Magikoopa spun back to Link.

"Just run away from the battle! Anywhere! It doesn't matter, he'll find you! RUN!"

With that the Magikoopa thrust his wand in the air and shot off a small spark that quickly expanded into a brilliant flash.

Nearly everyone was blinded, but Link and crew took the chance to run away from Mario, blinking away the tears the flash brought on. Before Mario could recover and pursue, a swarm of Lakitus and Paratroopas flew at him and his troops, drawn by the Magikoopas signal. Grinning as the foes appeared, Mario called out to his forces.

"Kill their king and the turtles still fight fiercely. Let's show them how much fiercer we are without our gentle Princess to restrain us!"

The Toads and Yoshis let out a most uncharacteristic roar of battle-fury and charged.

The six ran from the battle, the sounds of screaming Koopas quickly becoming the dominant noise behind them. Before they were completely out of sight though, Meta Knight shot by them, a golden blade lashing out and drawing both blood and a scream from Falco.

"Damn it!" Samus said, spinning around as Meta turned for a second pass.

Falco gasped in pain, his left leg bleeding profusely from a large slash on the upper thigh. Meta swung by, but was suddenly caught off guard by an inhaling Kirby. Kirby puffed up dramatically as the knight was sucked into his maw, but gestured to the others to keep running.

"We can't leave him!" Raichu said, as Samus grabbed Falco's shoulder and helped the limping bird move.

"If we don't keep going, Mario will catch up!" Link shouted, as Kirby started to shake from the struggling internal Meta.

Reluctantly Raichu turned from Kirby and joined the others. They didn't get far before Meta burst out of Kirby, and spread his wings wide in preparation for continuing his pursuit when the blade Kirby had acquired from inhaling him suddenly swung towards his mask. Meta deflected the strike and took to the air, flying just above Kirby's head. Kirby tried to jump as well, but Meta proved superior with both the blade and in the air and quickly knocked him back to the ground, bleeding from a dozen small wounds.

While Kirby struggled against Meta Knight, Falco continued to leave a trail of blood. They were forced off the cobbled path and into the rougher terrain of the meadow, as they sought a way to avoid the battles raging around them. The harder ground was proving difficult for the injured bird to travel along. Their pace continued to slow and Falco ended up broaching the subject before someone else was forced to.

"Just leave me."

"No!" Raichu said, but even his normally earnest attitude was touched with resignation.

"It makes sense," Falco said. "I'll try to slow down Meta or Mario. Once you meet up with Kamek, you can figure something out and come back for me and Kirby."

Raichu looked at Falco, who even under his dark feathers they could see was paling from the blood loss. "The most you're going to do is make them waste time trying to keep you from bleeding to death."

Falco grinned slightly as he pushed away from Samus and dropped to a kneeling position. "Then I'm going to bleed as much as possible. Now go!"

The others ran, and Raichu only spared the bird a single, despairing glance before dropping to all fours and following the others.

Falco waited until the others had faded from sight, slipping past some small houses on the edge of the town before he grabbed his leg, hissing in pain. Frantically he used his beak to tear off a chunk of his sleeve and wrapped it around the leg.

"At least this stupid shirt is good for something," Falco said. He tied off the makeshift wrap, sighing in relief that his bleeding stopped, although the pain continued. "There is no way I'm just going to sit out here and wait to get recaptured."

Looking around, he found a chunk of broken cobblestone that was about the size of a large fist. He picked it up and started to move towards a sign with a Koopa shell sized hole in the top that was proudly declaring the new regulations enacted by Acting Sovereign Mario.

"Curfew, reporting on suspicious activity, mandatory battle training, yeah Mario you and Kidar are really creating a lovely police-state here," Falco growled, trying to position himself behind the sign in a manner that would hide him from one on the path, but let him peek through the hole. He was ready to wait until he saw someone, when he got an idea. He looked on the ground again, looking for something else. When he found it, he settled into his hiding spot and waited.

It wasn't long. Mario and his battalion of Toads and Yoshis soon came down the path. Falco was unsettled to note that most of them looked uninjured and Mario's footprints were leaving behind a small trail of ash. At that Falco nearly lost his nerve and was about to just let Mario walk on by. But a look in the distance, and the thoughts of his fleeing friends gave him courage.

As Mario neared, Falco lunged out of concealment and hurled the large cobblestone at Mario with all of his strength. Quicker than Falco would have guessed, Mario spun at the sound of Falco's pained hiss from the exertion of the throw and caught the cobblestone in one smoking hand. And crushed it to powder. Before Falco could even try to limp away, Mario flung a fireball at the bird. It crashed into the sign and set it ablaze. Falco flung himself away from the fire and Mario approached, waving to his allies to stay back.

"So they left you behind. Smart, but unlike them. They must really be desperate to escape," Mario said.

Falco thought about saying something. A snappy one-liner, a witty retort. Something to shut Mario up and make the plumber see reason, or at least get him to think about something other than his own insane desires. Unfortunately he wasn't really in much of a mindset for those kinds of things so he said nothing. Instead, as Mario approached Falco simply grabbed the second rock he had found earlier and had landed near, and with his last gasp of strength he jumped up and swung it towards Mario's head.

And the plumber stopped him by grabbing Falco's rock-holding arm and broke every fragile bird bone he could with a single squeeze. The rock fell to the ground with a hopeless clatter and Falco was only stopped from the same by Mario's remorseless grip on his shattered arm.

"I wouldn't worry about the arm. I'm sure Kidar can repair your injury. But maybe you'll think of this the next time you try and waste _my_ time." Mario started to drag the whimpering and barely conscious Falco back to his troops when a screaming chimp jumped at Mario from behind.

Mario dropped Falco's arm and spun, using the momentum from the spin to plant a foot directly into Diddy's chest. The chimp's angered shrieks turned into gasps of pain and he fell to the ground, instantly nearly as beaten as Falco, his ribs cracked from the blow.

Before Mario could savor his victory, a large bolt of lightning screamed across the grassy and battle-damaged field and drilled into him with the force of a storm. Mario was sent pinwheeling from the electrical assault and crashed into the ground, body smoking. He didn't stay grounded long though, and as he rose, his eyes burned into the electric mouse standing opposed to him

"Sorry Falco," Diddy wheezed as Raichu blasted Mario again. "We couldn't leave you."

"Like I'm going to complain about friends like you," Falco said, struggling to hang onto clarity as the world swam in front of him. He saw a singed and staggering Mario meet the third bolt from Raichu with a horrendous gout of fire that caused the Toads and Yoshis to take a step back, wincing from the heat and power of the attack.

"Don't flinch from your duty!" Mario called out, voice strong and clear. "Collect our prisoners and then get back to defending your home!"

They nodded, a few moving to grab Diddy and Falco. Raichu tried to divert them with a bolt of lightning, but had to break it off to avoid an exploding ball of fire from Mario.

"Link and Samus?" Falco asked, as a pair of Toads gently lifted him up, taking great care not to strain his injuries. Similar care was shown to Diddy.

"They kept going. I hope we bought them enough time," Diddy said, the last few words barely above a whisper.

"I'd feel better about that if we knew where Kidar was," Falco said darkly, before he was taken too far from Diddy to continue on their nearly inaudible conversation.

Raichu's fourth bolt was smaller than the first three, and Mario's fire broke through, forcing the mouse to leap away from the flames, fur scorched. While he was not hampered by the removal of gear and weapons like his friends, he was still weakened from his imprisonment and the escape, while Mario seemed fresher than ever. Even as he watched, the burned flesh on Mario seemed to fade and the clothing seemed brighter than before. He prepared another bolt, but Mario leapt over it and came down hard in front of Raichu, the force of his impact knocking the mouse over. Gloved hands descended and he knew nothing more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Link and Samus were passing the last of the houses, the sounds and smells of battle nearly faded. And both were regretting not turning back.

"Do you think maybe-" Samus started, before Link cut her off abruptly.

"No, I don't think. And dammit Samus, it doesn't matter. The only way we can hope to help them now is meet up with Kamek and get some help."

"It still feels wrong," Samus said, glaring at Link.

"It does," Link said, returning her glare with a look that was near despair. "Still, at least there's still the two of us," Link said, whispering the last part.

Samus flushed slightly, wishing for the millionth time that she had her suit. "Surely you wish Zelda was here?"

"Not so much," Link said sardonically, "Cause then she'd be captured as well."

"Oh," Samus said, heart leaping at the first part of his sentence, and falling at the second.

"Still, I think you might be better company," Link said as the two began to slow. His eyes widened slightly. He hadn't meant to say that part out loud.

"Link," Samus said, before a Magikoopa in slightly fine robes screamed into view, broomstick jittering from his sudden stop.

"Make out later, I've got to get you out of here!"

"Kamek?" Link asked, trying not to think of the first thing the Magikoopa said. "You're the one who was sending us messages right?"

"Yes!" The Magikoopa said impatiently as he pulled out his wand and moved it in an unusual pattern. It began to glow, while more Koopas joined them. A few Lakitus, some Magikoopas and a burly pair of green skinned Koopas holding Chain Chomps.

"What's the plan?" Link asked, as the scattering of Koopas formed a protective ring around Samus, Link and Kamek. There were no houses in close proximity and the only trees nearby were thin, frail things that provided no cover.

"There's a place with a gathering of people like you," Kamek said, as his wand brightened.

"People like us?" Samus asked, looking nervously around.

"'Fools with more recklessness than brains," Kamek said derisively. "Still, they should be able to help us. I'm sending you to them. Convince them come here and fight."

"Why can't you do it?" Samus asked. "Rather than enacting this elaborate escape plan?"

"I'm needed here," Kamek snarled. "Someone wiped out the only other people capable of standing against Mario and Kidar in this dimension."

Link and Samus had nothing to say to that.

"Besides, these godforsaken warriors I'm sending you to have their own problems to deal with. Convincing them might require talents and skills I don't possess."

There was no warning. No sound. There was simply a handful of Koopas keeping watch, and then half of them were dead. Two Lakitus pierced by gray blades. One Magikoopa and a Chomp Bros were skewered by a violet tentacle through the chest. The four Koopas fell to the ground, barely even aware they were deceased. A dark, purple-tinged figure emerged from a suddenly there portal, tentacles retracting back to his body from his back, and the gray swords returning to his hands with a sudden flash.

"NO!" Samus and Link said, both reaching for weapons they didn't have.

"Stop him!" Kamek said, panicking as his wand reached painful levels of brightness.

One of the Lakitu's hurled a Spiny at the figure, but a blast of dark lightning from his hand vaporized both. A Magikoopa cast a spell and the surviving Chomp Bros hurled his Chain Chomp, but the figure simply sidestepped both attacks and slashed both Koopas down the middle, coating his blades in blood. The last Magikoopa tried to teleport but found that hard to do when a sword entered and then exited his throat.

"It was a nice attempt at an escape," the figure said, shadows clearing to reveal the man they all knew it had to be. "But pointless."

"Dammit Kidar, can't you just try and not be the worst thing in the world?" Link said as the man smiled at him.

His armor was unchanged, black with gold trim and a violet cape. His purple hair was longer than before, covering his ears and surprisingly messy considering how immaculate the rest of him looked. His face was hard and angular, the boy-like smoothness he had on their adventure together faded until he looked like a man forced to grow up too fast.

Kamek shouted and flung his wand forward, a spell crackling to life before them and creating a wobbly, hesitant portal.

"Go!" Kamek shouted.

"No," Kidar stated, raising a hand and clenching a fist. The portal shook and started to fade, and Kamek poured more power into it, trying desperately to keep it steady, but even so it was barely there and looked dangerous to even get near. So Samus punched Kidar in the face.

The swordsman was staggered, but not down and he blasted her with a burst of dark lightning that sent her screaming to the ground. Kamek twisted his wand and fired a ball of flames at Kidar and he deflected it with a casual swing of his arm.

"Link!" Samus shouted. "Go!"

"No one is going!" Kidar shouted, as Link took a hesitant step towards the portal. "You wouldn't abandon your friends to their fate would you? You wouldn't abandon her?"

Link stopped, the triangle markings on his hand flaring painfully.

"That's it Link, stay here and show me your courage," Kidar said derogatorily. "You know, my chest still aches from when you drove your sword into it. Maybe you'd like to try and finish me off?"

Link didn't move. Samus gasped painfully and Kamek cast another spell, this one of cutting winds and dust. Kidar simply weathered it, the slices of the winds seeming dull against his armor.

"Link!" Kamek said, frantically thinking of something he could do, anything to slow Kidar down. "If you don't go through that portal, all this will have been for nothing!"

"Link!" Kidar interjected. "You are the Bearer of the Triforce of Courage. When last we fought, you faltered. If you wish to verify that you deserve that honor, than prove it now!"

Link smiled at that, although it was a sad, beaten smile. With a single glance at Samus Link raised his head...and dived through the portal. It vanished shortly thereafter and Samus looked at Kidar, a triumphant smile on her face. A smile that faded when she saw it was matched by the one on Kidar's.

_In a Dark Nexus between Dimensions..._

Six figures slowly entered a room, each stepping out from a different door. The room was brightly lit, but gray in tone and bore only a single large table, surrounded by six throne-like chairs. A seventh, broken chair stood at the head of the table. With nary a glance at the broken chair, each of the men took a seat.

One was a large, fat man with a distended body on top of a pair of spindly legs. His head was hairless, with the exception of a rather spectacular red mustache that extended quite a ways from his body. His deepset eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark, circular glasses. He took his seat with some difficulty, finding it hard to fit his body around the table.

Another was an older man, garbed in a white labcoat. His body shape was more normal, and his gray mustache less impressive, but his hair was spread out into two large wings that gave him a rather sinister appearance. His age seemed to serve no hindrance to him, as he moved with the ease of a younger man.

The third man nearly appeared in his chair, so quickly did he move. His blond hair was slicked back and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses the same color as the trench coat he wore.

The fourth man took his time, practically floating to his position. His eyes were a pale white, with no pupils that nearly matched the color of his large, nearly square teeth, presented in a distended and disturbing smile. A peaked cap sat perched on his head and his long cape caused him to stumble a bit while getting into his chair.

The fifth man was wearing a black hooded coat with more than the normal amount of zippers. His long, spiky hair was nearly white and contrasted sharply with his amber gaze. He lounged in his chair like he was expecting to nap shortly.

The final man was dressed in golden and violet armor, with the jagged structure and multi-pointed cape giving him an insect-like appearance. His head was horned, long light yellow hair framing an effeminate face. He was the first to sit, and once everyone else had taken their place, he was the first to stand.

"We must seek a plan to deal with our foes," he said, his voice lilting, yet strangely deep.

"I'm surprised to see you representing your world," the lounging man said. "I expected the clown or the swordsman."

The standing man smiled lightly. "Neither are of a mindset that denotes cooperation. I rather expect they would get frustrated dealing with you and attempt to murder you all."

"Regardless," the capped man said, leaning forward. "He's right, we need a plan."

"Well don't look at me," the older man said. "Most of my plans consist of just telling everyone that I'm not evil now, oh wait, whoops sorry, totally still evil."

"Not what we're looking for," the standing man said.

"Hey if it's robots you need, we've got you covered," the oddly shaped man said, gesturing at himself and the elderly one next to him. "As far as actual plans go though, no we kind of suck at that."

"It is true though," the sunglasses wearing man said in a gravelly voice, "That M.C. is gone?"

He nodded to the chair. The standing man nodded back. "Yes. He has been killed, and his primary armies and subordinates obliterated. I am unsure as to how he was killed or by who. The only information I have is that small group carved a swathe through his forces and went straight for him."

"Idiot," the lounging man said.

"Still, he brought us back to life and assembled us for a reason," the standing man finished, as if no one else had spoken.

The oddly shaped man snorted. "Speak for yourself. I never died."

"Me neither," the old man said.

"I had a plan for coming back," both the capped man and the sunglassed man said at the same time. They paused and looked at each other oddly.

"The Heroes of our worlds are gathering," the standing man said, seemingly unperturbed by the interruptions. "They seek to overthrow our new dominions. M.C. foolishly allowed a renegade group to battle his men one at a time. We must not allow this to happen to us. We might not want to work together, but if we don't want to meet the same fate we will have to."

The others all nodded in agreement, albeit reluctantly.

"Now," the standing man said, his grin turning vicious. "Who here has the best plan to see all our foes sent to the bowels of Hell? I've been dying to have some company."

_In a bar of no specific location..._

Link was dropped roughly the ground from his portal, feeling like he had been stomped on by a dozen mountains given legs. Blearily he looked around and found himself in a bar. Confused, he checked again and asserted from the frowning bartender, wiping out a glass cleaner than the rag he was using and the mugs of multi-colored occasionally foaming liquid in front of the people staring at him that he was in a bar and his initial assessment was correct.

With that confirmed, he took a second look at the people in the bar, a ragtag and confusing group. There were a few brightly colored rodent-like people that made him think of Raichu. A pair of mechanical attired men reminded him of Samus, and while the rest looked purely human, their weapons and attire diverged greatly. Some bore guns and military garb, while others were armored and carried swords bigger than any even Ganondorf had wielded.

Link slowly got to his feet, surprised when one of the men helped him up. His surprise was further enhanced when he realized that none of the people were suffering from surprise of their own. In fact, he nearly seemed expected.

"Looks like the last one is here," the man in a red mechanical suit and long flowing blonde hair said.

"Last one?" Link said. "What's going on? Who are you people?"

The man who was helping Link up, the man with the giant sword and spiky yellow hair, smiled at that. "Link my friend, we're the heroes."

AN: See Profile for Info


	2. A Band of Heroes

**Chapter Two: A Band of Heroes**

Link took a seat and had a mug of amber liquid shoved in front of his face. He was halfway through the glass before he was even able to start processing what was in front of him. 12 people, who made the ones he had adventured with before look nearly normal. Actually, Link thought as he took another sip, that wasn't entirely fair. With the exception of the rodents and machine-men, all of them were human, making them less strange than say Kirby or Diddy. Although, Link thought, reconsidering as he took another sip, he was allowing for a large range of normal, considering how odd and colorful some of their attire was. Also this was among the absolute worst drinks he'd ever had the displeasure of tasting.

One of the animals was a brilliant blue, which nearly matched the color of the other mechanical man, although the animal had sharp spikes jutting out of his head and back. His arms and legs were thin, but his feet and hands were large and encased in gloves and shoes. Despite his frail appearance, the large-eyed, waist-high creature gave off an aura of swiftness. Near him was a similarly shaped creature, although his yellowish-orange fur and double tails made him stand out. In fact, Link thought, the orange one kind of reminded him of Fox. Something in his face.

As Link slowly drank and thought to himself, the others stood by, occasionally murmuring or exchanging glances. None of them stared directly at Link, but he could feel their gazes all the same. In an effort to avoid talking to them and certainly to avoid thinking about what he just escaped and who didn't escape with him he looked them over, doing his best to take in every feature they had without meeting any of their eyes.

The suited men drew his gaze next. Honestly, with the exception of fully visible faces encased in helmets, he thought they looked a lot like Samus, although he was surprised by how clean-shaven and boyish the blue one's face was. The red one had a more adult face, but it wasn't really more masculine. In fact, with the long blonde hair and green gems placed suspiciously on his chest, Link was starting to wonder if the red one was a man.

Following those unusual figures, the next ones were almost banal in their normality. One was a woman, too old to be called young, but too young to be called middle-aged. She was pretty, in a plain, understated cute way. Like the girl next door, not the amazoness of beauty that Samus wa-

Link caught that thought off abruptly.

Her hair was brownish-red and tied off in a ponytail that reached down to her shoulders and her clothing was of a type Link wasn't familiar with. It was a uniform, he guessed, but he wasn't sure what for. Her pants were tan, her shirt a faint green and she was draped in bandoliers and pockets. Her equipment was all pretty small, with some devices that looked similar to Falco's guns and grenades, but of a different model. The man next to her was also packed full of weapons and equipment, but his clothing seemed less uniform and more individual than hers. A dark leather jacket, a darker shirt and blue pants contrasted sharply with light hair that seemed to have started going gray a little earlier than his age would suggest. His hair, Link noticed, was weirdly fine and delicate, nearly seeming to feather out as it covered one eye, but the man's hard expression, well-toned physique and far beyond the normal amount of knives made it clear that he was not a delicate man.

Link's gaze then traveled to the blond, spiky-haired swordsman who talked to him when he arrived. His clothing was dark, leathery and entirely irrelevant when one considered the giant, omigod, that sword is so huge, is anyone else noticing the behemoth of a sword?! Link caught himself staring at the blade, and before anyone could interpret his interest as a desire to talk, he moved onto the woman near the swordsman. She also carried a sword, a long, curving one that was still well within the realm of normal. Thin armor was draped around her green vest and light beige pants. Her hair was flowing, gentle waves the color of cornsilk, and her face had a fey beauty to it that was sharper than even Zelda's at her most mysterious, but the way she carried herself- she was all warrior and dammit Link was thinking about Samus again.

The next girl he saw was very young, truly a girl and not a woman. She was short, petite, with dark red hair in thick locks. Her clothing was a peach-pink color mostly, and like the fiery haired man next to her, it had a lot of zippers. The man was tall, thin and garbed in black, hooded robes, but his hair jutted out in great spikes that made it seem unlikely he could actually pull the hood down.

The last two were women too. One was small, slender with a youthful, rounded face, but a scar along her cheek gave her a hard look, and the clear musculature gave her a powerful presence. Her legs were bare and the tight green spandex she wore did little to disguise her figure. The woman near her was tall and graceful, with a sinuous yellow scarf and form-hugging clothes.

With that final observation, Link realized he had finished his glass and could no longer avoid the people around him.

"Where am I?" Link asked, drawing the attention of all, even the grouchy bartender, although his attention was short-lived.

"A stop between dimensions," the fox-like one said, his voice far younger than Link would have guessed. "Basically a neutral zone where people from different worlds can gather easily."

"Like the Smashing Realm," Link said quietly.

Link took the fox speaking pretty well in stride, having seen far weirder things in his life. Some of the others looked startled or uncomfortable though, as if they hadn't realized that the fox was more than just a colorful, partially clothed animal.

"And you are?"

"People like you," the blonde swordsman said. "We've been displaced from our homes by revived and organized villains."

Link snorted. "Of course you have. Well, sorry to say this, but the villains in my home are dead. I wish that was my problem."

The fox seemed confused at that. "Did you not just escape from a subjugated world?"

"Yeah," Link said, irritation creeping into his tone. "But it wasn't mine."

That seemed to draw some attention. The red machine man showed an expression other than bored indifference for the first since Link arrived. "Explain."

Link bristled at the commanding tone. "Don't tell me what to do."

The man raised an eyebrow. Or at least, he looked like he would have, if his helmet didn't come down far enough to cover them. "I didn't realize you would take it as an order."

Link glared at the man, not sure if he was being sarcastic. "I don't see why I have to tell any of you anything. I just came through hell and don't know any of you."

"The turtle didn't vouch for us?" the fox asked.

"No one vouched for the turtle," Link said. He turned his glare to the empty mug in his hand. "Why the hell am I not drunk?"

"Cause that's water," the bartender grumbled. Link scoffed for a second and then stared at the remaining, amber-colored liquid rimming the edges of the glass. He paled noticeably and pushed the mug away. Several of the others who had their own glasses copied his behavior.

"Moving on," the swordsman said, pointedly ignoring the bartender. "Maybe we should see if we could get more comfortable with each other?"

"How?" the blue mechanical man asked.

"Well, this was intended to be a meeting of allies, for us to agree to help each other and retake our worlds. We should work out a plan on how we're going to do that."

"You were the expert on portals who set this up," the knife-laden man said. "Our scientists barely understood the stuff. I know for a fact me and Claire have no idea what's possible and what's not with these things, so beyond shooting the bad guys when they're in front of us, I got nothing."

"I have no idea either actually," the swordsman said. "I mean, we've got some people capable of manipulating the pathways between dimensions, but I wasn't responsible for any of that."

"This is ridiculous," Link said. "You're trying to assemble some half-assed band of heroes to go traipsing from world to world, killing the bad guys one villain at a time?"

"Hey that's not bad!" the blue man said.

"Nice idea," the red-haired girl said, with a gentle smile.

"It's not an idea," Link snarled back, wiping the smile off her face. "It's the most damn obvious thing to do. Trust me, I did it. It worked. And now everything sucks."

There was a long silence.

"Maybe we should focus on getting to know each other," the swordsman said. "We can figure out plans of attack after we see where we all stand."

"And how do you suggest we familiarize ourselves with each other?" the fox asked.

"Why don't we hear how your worlds fell," the graceful woman said. Her accent got a jump out of Link, but other than that he didn't respond. "If we share what we all have in common, and see how the situation is on each world, a plan could arise."

"Sounds good," the swordsman cut in, overriding Link's snort of derision. "Who wants to go first?"

No one jumped at the opportunity. The swordsman's small smile of support started to fade in disappointment, until the knife-laden man pushed the woman next to him with his elbow. "Oh, look at that, Claire would love to go first."

"Dammit Leon," Claire said, stumbling forward. She started to step back, but when she saw everyone looking at her she sighed and brushed her hair out of her eyes. "Fine. I'll do it. But you're talking too, Leon!"

The man just smiled innocently. No one else interrupted, and even Link looked vaguely curious as to what they had to say. After a short clearing of her throat, the woman began to speak.

_A few months ago at the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance European Base..._

"Dammit Chris, stop packing for one second and look at me!" Claire shouted. Chris's apartment was small and spartan, with the same militarized feel as everything the BSAA did. Claire knew from seeing some of the other apartments though, that Chris had gone out of his way to take one of the smallest on base, something that flew in the face of his rank, experience and seniority in the organization. If he actually spent any time in his official living quarters, she might have chewed him out for punishing himself in such stupid ways.

"What? I'm busy." Chris punctuated this statement by slamming shut a small suitcase that had more guns than clothes in it. Considering it was probably all of his clothes, and not nearly all of his guns, Claire hoped that didn't mean he had a second suitcase of just guns lying around.

"I know, but Chris, you've got to stop. Or at least take a break."

"I can't. I have to do this."

"Why? It can't be personal anymore. You found Jill. You killed Wesker. You're done."

"It'll always be personal," Chris said angrily. "I won't stop. I'm doing this for the men that died, not just for me."

"You have to stop! I spent all that time searching for you, I find you and it doesn't matter, because you just leave again."

"You know why I leave!" Chris shouted, his hands clenching into fists. Claire took a step back, fully realizing how much he dwarfed her. Still, he was her brother and she wouldn't let him intimidate her.

"And that's why it's so awful. I know exactly what you're out there doing, what you're fighting; and it's noble, but it's killing me. I know that any minute you could die some horrible painful death, or worse, get turned into some mindless monster. And every time you leave, every time I look on the news and see what devastation is being wrought on some poor city, I know you're right there in the middle of it."

"You worry Claire, I get that," Chris said, making a visible effort to calm down.

"Don't belittle it by calling it worry Chris. Worry is for if you're a few minutes late for lunch, or you don't call back for a day. You're diving headlong into literally the most dangerous, awful things we could imagine and risk fates worse than death every minute you're there. I'm panicked every time you're gone. And you're gone a lot."

"You think I don't worry about you?" Chris said, turning it back on her. "You're going into situations nearly as dangerous as me."

"They are not!" Claire said, startled to see Chris actually responding to her. Usually at this point in their arguments he shuts her out, but something she said must have gotten to him. "If I do my job right, I never have to fire a shot."

"Then why do you always bring a gun?" Chris said.

Claire didn't respond. Chris waited a minute and when he saw that she had nothing to say, he grunted and grabbed his suitcase. She made a sound as he left, but it was just non-vocal sound of frustration and Chris ignored it.

"Dumbass," Claire grumbled after he left. She kicked at the door, and when that didn't make her feel better she kicked it again. That time it actually made her feel worse, and she reluctantly left Chris's apartment, limping slightly. It was an overcast day, not raining but the promise of a storm hung in the air.

Claire didn't see Chris as she left the apartment; she assumed he had gone straight to the helipad. She considered going after him and trying to talk him again before he left. She knew she couldn't convince him to stop driving himself into the ground, but she could at least make him realize he didn't win their conversation. She hated thinking that he thought he outsmarted her. Before a decision was made, Leon turned a corner and called out her name.

"What?" Claire grumbled. Then she paused, as Leon neared. He wasn't wearing a uniform, just dark pants and a thick jacket, although he still carried his pistol and a few knives. "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"They let me in," Leon said slowly, as if explaining something to a child.

"No, I mean, why are you here? You don't work for the BSAA."

Leon gave her an embarrassed smile. "I kind of do now."

Claire completely stopped walking, all thoughts of Chris temporarily shot out of her mind. "What?! But who's protecting the president?"

"Not the guy who shot the last president," Leon said.

"Oh. Right."

"Yeah, I figured I should quit before they fire me. The new president was kind of uncomfortable around me."

"But there were extenuating circumstances!"

Leon waved his hand, indicating that he didn't want to talk about it anymore.

"Anyways, I'm working in an advisory position for the BSAA now. Your bosses didn't want a guy with my skillset and experience going to waste."

Claire snorted at that, a smile quirking up her lip. "Of course not."

"Enough about me. What's got you limping?"

Claire flushed slightly. "It's nothing. Chris and I just had another fight."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "And did you try to kick that mountain of muscle?"

"No!" Claire said, flush deepening. "I kicked a door."

"So you somehow missed him?"

"No!" Claire shouted, nearly stamping her foot in indignance, before realizing how childish that would look, and how much amusement Leon would derive from that.

"So what's wrong then?" Leon said, tone shifting from one of teasing to one of sympathy.

"The same thing as always," Claire said. "Chris has been fighting viruses and terrorists and monsters for fifteen years now, and he won't stop."

Leon gave Claire a long stare. "That's not exactly fair Claire. You have your own obsession."

"That's not the same! I know Steve's body was picked up by Wesker. He could be alive, or a terrible monster or something. I need closure on that."

"We're all searching for something," Leon said, somewhat wistfully.

Claire glared at him. "You're not the same either. You know Ada's probably alive, and doing fine."

Leon looked somewhat annoyed at that. "I was referring more to Jill and Carlos, and Rebecca and Billy. But now that you mention it, you're right. I do know Ada's probably alive. I don't know what the hell she's doing or why."

"I'm not trying to get into another fight," Claire said, sighing.

"Well if you were, you nearly succeeded," Leon said, earlier traces of humor gone. "Why's it bother you so much what he does?"

"Besides him being my brother?" Claire asked.

"Yes. You've been fighting about this for years. It seems personal."

Claire sighed and stared off past Leon. She stared for so long he started to wonder if she had fallen asleep standing up, when she turned her attention back to him. "I just...you're right. I do have my own obsession. But I can get through it, because I have a goal: Find Steve. Chris had his own goals: Find Jill, Kill Wesker. He did those, but he's still just as obsessed. He shifted his goals and I'm afraid..."

"You're afraid that if he can't get over it, you won't be able to either," Leon said, with more compassion in his voice than Claire was expecting. She smiled sadly.

"Chris is probably gone now," Claire said. "Why don't we get a drink together, and try not to think about our obsessions and the people we lost?"

At that moment, Chris's apartment exploded, sending Claire and Leon running for cover. A second explosion sounded from deeper in the base, coming near HQ.

"We're under attack?!" Claire yelled, dodging the remains of Chris's home.

"Watch yourself, there could be an outbreak!" Leon shouted back, trying to dodge and cover his face with his sleeve from any viruses that could be drifting around. When the dust cleared, the two joined up with an organized, but confused batch of BSAA soldiers, who were heading to the second explosion. On the way however, something ovalloid and metallic crashed into the pavement near them.

"A capsule?" one of the men near it asked. He lowered his rifle and started to move towards it.

"Back off!" Leon said, pulling out his handgun. The man started to scoff at the unranked man trying to tell him what to do on his base, but then remembered what they usually dealt with and took the man's advice. A little bit too late as something kicked the door off the capsule hard enough to send the man down with a broken spine. He screamed as a hulking, bald, gray-skinned man in an enormous black trench coat emerged from the capsule. The BSAA soldier tried to raise his rifle to fire, but his arms weren't working. Following a powerful stomp from the giant, most of the rest of him wasn't working either.

"I don't believe it," Claire said drawing her own pistol. "That's the Tyrant we killed in Raccoon City. Who dug up another one of them?"

No one answered her, as the Tyrant stomped towards them, its fists larger than the men's heads. Despite the surprise of the attack and the sudden death of one of their members, the other seven men were quick to regroup and open fire. Having been trained for battling inhuman bullet sponges, they made sure to spread out and focus their fire, their assault rifles pouring into the Tyrant's center mass and head. The creature lunged forward, trying to pound one of the men into the ground, but even with his gear, he was able to slip around the fast, but unmaneuverable monster, and was quickly pumping fire into again. Soon the sheer barrage of bullets sent the creature to its knees. Leon and Claire fired some shots at it, but it seemed like the creature was barely alive even now: bleeding from dozens of wounds, its chest a mangled mess and its head more bullet than brain.

"If this was some kind of attack on the BSAA, they didn't plan this well," Claire said. "B.O.W.'s like that are dangerous in a small, ammo-deprived environment, but against a trained force?"

"Looks like some moron got his hands on something he didn't understand," Leon said.

The Tyrant responded by shuddering, and then its upper body exploded out into a noxious blue gas.

"What?" Leon shouted. "The C-Virus?!"

Leon and Claire bolted from the expanding virulent fog, while the BSAA soldiers started to put on their gas masks. Two of them were too slow, and the blue gas seeped into their noses and mouths, driving them coughing to the ground.

"What's going on?" Claire yellled, as the sounds of screaming echoed from multiple areas on the base. Minor explosions, like those of grenades, rumbled nearby and threatening to overtake those noises was the unearthly cries and moans of the growing horde of inhuman beasts. Claire took a few shots at what she swore was a Hunter that dashed across their path.

"A better question is where should we go?" Leon asked, the two ducking behind a smoldering car as another Tyrant lumbered past.

"The Helipad," Claire said instantly.

Leon wasn't sure if she was saying that because it was their best shot out of the rapidly growing mess the BSAA base had become, or because she was hoping to find her brother still here. He also decided it didn't matter. With only a few shots fired at the occasional monster or zombified BSAA soldier, the two reached the helipad, and fortunately found that not all the helicopters had taken off. That was in large part because of the organized battalion of soldiers, led by Chris, carefully and methodically decimating the increasing horde of Hunters, Tyrants and zombies lunging for them.

"Claire, get in one of the helicopters and get out of here!" Chris shouted, aiming his rifle and downing a lunging, clawed Hunter in midswipe.

"Careful with the Tyrants," Leon shouted. "They're virus bombs!"

"What?" One of the men shouted, lobbing a grenade at one of the Tyrants as it proceeded to rip apart a BSAA soldier who got too close.

"Shit," Leon said. The grenade exploded, sending the injured Tyrant to its knees. It almost seemed to grin, as it gave off one faint shudder, and then exploded.

"Chris!" Claire shouted, as Chris backed away from the expanding cloud of blue gas.

"The hell?" Chris yelled back, as the men at the forefront of the helipad started coughing.

"We gotta go Chris! We can't deal with this!"

Chris looked reluctant to leave his men, but as the cloud of poisonous blue crept forward, he saw he had no choice. He pushed some of the men behind him forward, and the surviving soldiers ran for the helicopters, using up the last of their grenades to keep the stem of monsters at bay.

Claire, Leon and Chris all found themselves in the same helicopter, and as the pilot carried them away from the base, they saw it had become a warzone. Fires raged out of control, as fewer and fewer bullets fired at greater and greater numbers of infected. As the base pulled out sight, there was a muffled thump, followed by a massive explosion that rocked the helicopter.

"The BSAA have self-destructs on their bases?" Leon asked, as the billowing cloud of flames overtook the cloud of the virus.

"Yeah," Chris said. "Not everything Umbrella did was a bad idea."

"I can't believe you'd say that," Claire said, not entirely joking.

"I can't believe this happened," Chris said. "No warning, no nothing. Just one second, everything was going as normal and then T-Virus monsters were popping up. Who the hell got their hands on the T-Virus?"

"And the C-Virus," Leon said. "Somehow those Tyrants were loaded with the C-Virus. Something weird is going on."

"A lot of good people dying is more than 'something weird'," Chris growled.

The drove on in silence for a while, the helicopter pilot only speaking to say he was taking them to a rendezvous point.

"Hey Chris," Claire said. "That mission you were going on, what was it?"

It took Chris a moment to respond, but eventually he tore himself out of his thoughts. "There was some kind of viral outbreak in France. Actually, it was kind of strange. Reports said that the virus seemed to be similar to that one from Raccoon City."

"The T-Virus?" Leon asked. "Zombies and Hunters and the like?"

"No," Chris said, as if coming to a realization. "It wasn't a big outbreak. Only a few creatures, and the infection rate was minimal. Thing was, the creatures didn't die. They kept mutating and surviving."

"The G-Virus?" Leon asked.

"There are way too many viruses," Claire grumbled. "But that can't be possible! How could there be three different viral infections going on simultaneously? Is one group responsible?"

"Uh, hate to be the bearer of the worst news," the pilot said, "But you should listen to this."

He turned up the radio, and their world turned upside down. Later, when they reached the rendezvous point and talked to other survivors of similar attacks, they turned on the television and connected to the internet. From there, they despaired of ever seeing the world fixed.


End file.
